Administrative and Ministerial Functions not Enough to Meet 8(a) Mentor-Protégé Joint Venture Requirements; SBA No. Siz-5783 Size Appeal of Sage Acquisitions LLC

Appeal of the area office’s determination that a joint venture is not small for the subject procurement is denied, where the 8(a) partner would perform only administrative and ministerial work in relation to the contract, rather than the substantive work contemplated by SBA’s regulations, and therefore the joint venture agreement did not comply with SBA’s rules, the joint venture cannot avail itself of the exception to affiliation afforded to 8(a) joint ventures, and the 8(a) vendor and its mentor are affiliated.